Google offers changes to satisfy EU ad-tech case but they don’t include breakup
LONDON — Google has proposed making major changes to its business practices to resolve a European Union antitrust case targeting its ad technology business, but that does not include breaking up the company.
The compliance plan that Google submitted to the European Commission – the 27-nation bloc’s main antitrust enforcement agency – includes “immediate product changes” to stop certain practices, the company said in a blog post.
“Our proposal fully addresses the EC’s decision without a disruptive disruption that would harm the thousands of European publishers and advertisers who use Google’s tools to grow their businesses,” the company said Friday.
Google also said it was appealing the Commission’s decision to fine it 2.95 billion euros ($3.4 billion) in September for breaching the bloc’s competition rules by favoring its own digital advertising services. It accuses Google of abusing its dominant position by favoring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of its competitors, online advertisers and publishers.
As part of the sanction, Google was also required to submit proposals to end what the Commission called “self-preferring practices” and end “conflicts of interest.”
The Commission said it would force Google to sell part of its business if it was not satisfied with the company’s proposed solutions.
Google’s changes include giving publishers more pricing options on its ad management platform. To address conflicts of interest, the company is changing its advertising tools to offer publishers and advertisers more choice and flexibility.
“We will now analyze the measures proposed by Google to assess whether they effectively put an end to self-preferring practices and resolve the situation of inherent conflicts of interest,” the Commission said in a statement.
